London Taxi maker Manganese Bronze bought by China’s Geely

China automotive giant Geely has bought Manganese Bronze – makers of the iconic London Black Cab – in an £11.04 million deal.

The iconic London Black Cab has been an accident waiting to happen for years, as under investment in making the Black Cab fit for the 21st century saw competition – like the Mercedes Vito Taxi and the Nissan NV200 Cab – start to offer serious competition to the taxi that identifies London.

That steering fault mess left Manganese Bronze in administration but now, as we reported back ion December, Geely has decided to buy what’s left of Manganese Bronze for £11.04 million and turn it in to Geely UK.

Li Shufu, Geely boss, said:

We have ambitious plans for the business and, despite it being clear that there are a number of challenges to be overcome, we are committed to working with all stakeholders to build a solid future for the Black Cab business that will enable it to return to profitability in the short term and grow substantially in the longer term.

We hope that means offering a London Taxi that still looks like a Black Cab should, but with modern underpinnings that can take the fight back to the Mercedes and Nissan taxis.

It’s perhaps not the ideal route for the Balck Cab, but probably the only way we can keep such an iconic vehicle in production; London without the Black Cab would be like London without Red Buses or the Changing of the Guard.

And for that we should be pleased; for the employees of Manganese Bronze, for Black Cab drivers, for London – and for Geely.